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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. land — to come down
  4. cap — of ice
  5. march — the month
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. season — in sport
  8. dip — to sink
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cap — a lid
  11. land — ground
  12. date — the fruit
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. land — a country
  17. season — of the year
  18. pit — a hole
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. march — the month
  24. pit — in a race

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com